A Retelling of My Story
by ILoveUchuu-jins
Summary: I've heard tons of story being told about me and the people related to me. But never have I found one that actually portrays how I feel. So, here's a retelling of my story – with a touch of reality mixed in.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, people of the Net. Here is - as quoted from the title - a retelling of Misaki's story.**

**I know, I know. The description sounds so arrogant and everything. I just don't know what to say... It's asdfghjkl. So yeah, I apologize for the really ASDFGHJKL sounding description.**

**The reason I'm writing another story while also writing _another_ story (Against All Laws) is because I've been suffering from a lot of writer's block lately, so I decided with two stories, I can just switch between the two whenever I'm stuck with one.**

**Lame.. I know...**

**Well, anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"_When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew."_

_ -Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act 2 – scene 2._

For my whole life, I've never been happy before. I mean, sure, I've laughed and I've smiled a lot of times, but I've never really felt _happy_ before. It's always been midway-happy, and not the whole thing. There's always this missing piece, this _gap_ inside me whenever I thought I felt happy.

And I'm sure that what I just said wouldn't make sense to some of you, and I can understand why – really, I do. But for the rest of you who _do_ actually understand what I meant, the rest of what I'm going to say will be much easier for you than for those who don't.

xXx

At the age of ten – or however old I was back then – my father left my family and me. I'd always assumed that he'd abandoned us because he wanted no more of the stress of our escalating debt – well, at least that was what Mum had said when I asked her – but I found the story a bit… I don't know… _rather off? Farfetched?_ The thing is, from the ten years that I'd been with him, he didn't seem like the kind of guy to leave a family of three alone and completely in the dark of what they should do to survive. But who was I to say that he wasn't just acting in front of me? After all, I _was_ only ten, was I not?

After he'd left, Mum cried for what seemed like a whole millennia of dreadfulness. My sister, who was only eight – if I'd really been ten when he left – at the time, and I were completely oblivious of what really had happened – that our own father had left our side – and we could only watch Mum as she continued to bawl her eyes out on her bed, a crumpled letter clutched in her hands. I, knowing that Suzuna shouldn't be watching all that, would drag her to the living room to watch cartoons.

The truth is, I sort of knew that Dad had left us. Only I'd naively thought that he would be out for only a few days – for work, perhaps. And the only reason I didn't want to tell Mum or Suzuna that I knew was because I didn't want them to worry. Suzuna was already stressing out with her second-grade homework, and Mum… I believe I do not need to explain why I didn't tell Mum that I knew.

As time flew, the knowledge of him coming back slowly diminished into a ball, then a small spark, then a dot, before completely vanishing to thin air. I slowly accepted that he wasn't coming back – not for a few days, not for a few years. Never. He wasn't coming back.

Secretly, I was devastated. I was disappointed, and in the same time mad. Furious. It had never occurred to me that he would be out for the next seven years of my life – of _all_ our lives – leaving us to care for ourselves.

And if I would be really honest to myself, I would say that I was hurt. My ability to trust had been seriously damaged, and it would take a long time before it could ever be repaired again – if ever. You know what they say: _Trust is like paper. Once it's crumpled, it would never be perfect again._

So by the time I'd reached the age of seventeen – seven years without the presence of the supposedly most important man in a daughter's life – I'd earned myself a part-time job in a place I would never bring my friends over – it is simply too embarrassing to ever do so – and the role of the very first female Student Council President in my school. Oh, and also the nickname 'Demon Pres from Hell'. They were all reflections of how I acted and behaved, with the exception of my part-time job.

I was made out of steel. I rarely showed my emotions – except for anger – and I was stronger than most of the male students in school, even the seniors. Having spent most of my time studying, I'd become a social pariah with only two close friends. My looks, what I wore and make-up were the last of my priorities, studying and earning money being the first two. My family needed me more than my social reputation.

But I do need to admit that, sometimes, I would find myself staring at the window of a fancy boutique, imagining myself in the fancy dress and shirts in display and on mannequins behind the wall of glass. I would stare at myself in the mirror in my room, thinking about what hairstyle would suit best, and what I could do to moisturize the skin on my knees and elbows, since moisturizing creams and lotions would just be a waste of our family's hard-earned money.

And I would stare at a group of girls and boys, laughing and punching each other's shoulders, thinking if I would ever experience such moment in my life. I would love to shop for cute notebooks and shoes together with my friends, and perhaps hang around in Starbucks or something after, chit-chatting and laughing and tasting each others' Chocolate Cream Chips and Vanilla Frappuccinos.

I kept all that to myself, though. I didn't want people to think that I cared about all those stuff.

And so one day, I was going through my usual routine in school – patrolling the hallways, scolding the students who broke at least one of the school regulations, helping girls who got bullied by the boys who broke the school regulations, etc. – when I heard cries down the hall.

It wasn't unusual for me to be a witness to a girl's heart being broken by some jerk, but I wasn't in a very good mood that day, and so when I saw Usui Takumi – the school's alleged 'prince' – talking to one of his countless fans, with her sobbing and sniffling, I yelled at him as I watched the girl run away from us both.

I guess I should've been nicer and wait until she was gone to scold Usui, because there was nothing more mortifying than being rejected by your idol with the school's President as witness, right? Though I could be wrong; I never confessed to a guy before.

Later that day, I was ending a shift at work at around 9 p.m., taking out trash and whatnot. My heart hammered as I dragged the trash can out into the street through the back door, scared to my life that someone from school would see me there, in my work uniform. It would be really embarrassing – and not to mention disturbing and… complicated – if someone _was_ to see me right there, right at that moment. I could already imagine what they would say –

"What a surprise. If it isn't the Pres…"

I gasped.

That voice hadn't been from my mind.

I whirled around, my heart threatening to break a rib or two before exploding in my chest, and found myself face-to-face with the person I would least love to see me there.

I nearly blacked out.

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**So... How did I do?**

**Review please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so before I spam this page with thousands of apologies, let me just say that I finished this a week ago. But I didn't have the time to get this up, so this is just up now.**

**Okay, now that that's covered, I'M EXTREMELY SORRY!**

**-If you want more 'sorry's from me, go to chapter 25 of Against All Laws, you'll find them there, together with the whole explanation to why I didn't have time to update and stuff-**

**Ah, and you may have realized that I added a story cover for all my stories (including this one). Tell me what you think! If you have a picture that you would like to submit, just tell me and I'll give you my email for you to send the pic to...? Idk, if you have a better way, then tell me too! LOL**

**Reviews:**

**AznRomance x3: No, thank YOU! And LOL, we shall call ourselves the asdfghjkl comity.**

**FeelLikeSmiling: Yes, I will definitely do just that (including the stuff that they don't show in the anime/manga, etc.) but you won't find it in EVERY chapter, hope that's not too bad.**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: THANK YOU THANK YOU *hugs***

**blackopalz21: I'm glad to hear that! Thank you!**

**Magica Ring: Err, it's a retelling of the anime, so it must be similar. But I promise that I will try and make it more interesting than the anime (if that's even possible).**

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"_What a surprise… If it isn't the Pres…"_

I jerked upwards, panting, my hands clenching the sheets on top of me.

It was just a dream, I thought. Just a nightmare... It didn't happen at all; I was just too stressed out with school…

Except… except it did happen. Usui Takumi had seen me in my work uniform, taking out the trash from my workplace. He'd seen me and yet he didn't seem surprised, despite what he said.

"Ah, you're back to usual," he'd said once I was done with my shift and dressed in a button-up shirt two sizes bigger than my actual one with a white tank under and a pair of jeans.

My heart felt like it was laid on the ground in the middle of an elephant stampede, stomped and squished and kicked. I felt like dying – I _wished_ I had died – wished that a void would open up under me and suck me in to an eternity of nothingness. But I didn't die or get sucked into a world full of darkness. Nope, I had no such luck.

I'd dragged the blond into the park near to my house, where I'd explained why I was working at where I was working at. That I'd only worked there because it offered a great pay and didn't really need me to spend a lot of energy, as I also had my grades to maintain and everything. All the time, he'd only offered nods and a few not-inquisitive questions. And all the time, I'd been under the impression that he was going to tell every single person in the world about this secret, that I was working in such a place, and that my reputation as the fierce and strict Student Council President would go plummeting down starting tomorrow, which was two days ago.

Eventually, the sun was up and I went to school. I'd become very keen to the whispers around the hallway, fearing that the students were talking about me. Whenever someone said a word that rhymes with my job, I would stop walking and ask them what they were talking about. By the end of the day, I was receiving weird stares and snorts from students I used to scold. Everyone except for Usui seemed to be in the dark about my job, but still.

This was no good, I thought. I couldn't stay like this…

But really, what could I do? Or rather, what could I do that I hadn't already done?

It was when I was thinking about why Usui hadn't told other people about this matter – perhaps he was going to blackmail me with it, or maybe he was just feeling sympathetic, I didn't know for sure – that my aforementioned two and only close friends approached me.

"Misaki!" Sakura sang, waving her hand in the air, her pink pigtails bobbing up and down as she skipped towards me. Shizuko followed from behind with a bouquet of flower on her hands.

They apologized for disturbing me and told me that they needed a favor from me.

It turned out that they were on their way to the flower arranging club – don't even ask – except that there was a boxing bag lying on the stairs to the club room.

That boxing club… I should've placed it somewhere farther away from the clubs with girls in them.

I sighed as Sakura continued to mumble on and on about how heavy and sweaty it looked. "Leave it to me," I said, grabbing the rusting metal chains on top of the bag.

"Are you sure –?" Sakura was about to ask when I turned so that the bag was behind me, my shoulder acting as a fulcrum.

And I threw my foot back, kicking the bag with all my might. It flew above my head, casting shadows down at my face, and I slammed it down on the ground in front of me, which just so happened to be right in front of the door to the boxing club.

The door to the club opened instantaneously, their members shouting in absurdly fake deep voices: "WE ARE THE BOXING CLUB!" But when they saw it was me, their faces paled as they stepped back a little.

I, with my inner demon awake, yelled at them and asked them to bring the damned thing inside their club. They silently did so.

Out of nowhere, Sakura squealed, "Eh, isn't that Usui over there?"

My vital organ – or _organs_ – froze the second his name entered my ear.

I whirled around, suddenly overcame with fear and anxiety, and saw that Usui Takumi was indeed right there, about a couple meters away from us, his face as straight as the ground beneath us.

"W-WH-WHAT A-ARE Y-Y-YOU L-LOOKING A-AT?!" I shouted, loud enough for the whole school to hear.

And Usui Takumi smirked, before walking away to the other direction.

The world stopped rotating for a moment.

And I internally shouted all the bad words known to man.

xXx

I started my shift an hour after school. Satsuki, my manager – who was a thirty-year old but 17 at heart – greeted me with great enthusiasm as I walked towards my spot, already wearing my mortifying uniform – though I'd always kept that to myself.

"I'm taking my break now," she said. "Do you mind taking my spot?"

"Not at all." I smiled at her.

She beamed back at me and disappeared behind the curtains to the staff section.

And just a second after she did, the bell on the door of the place rang.

"Welcome –"

I stopped talking abruptly when I saw who it was.

I could not believe this.

I could _not_ believe this.

"Maid-latte, huh?" Usui Takumi mouthed.

My maid uniform suddenly felt too tight for me. Especially near the chest. I couldn't breathe. My eyes became out of focus. My throat was dry.

Kill me. Kill me right now.

"Misaki," Honoka, a 20-year old who also worked there, whispered to me. "He's yours." Meaning that I was the one assigned to show him his seat, take his orders, give him his orders and whatnot. Great.

I swallowed the knot in my throat, ignoring how painful it was, and practically dragged myself to the blond. Once there, I forced my lips to form a smile – at least, I intended it to be a smile – and said, in the most fake-enthusiasm-filled voice ever known to mankind, "Welcome back, Master!"

A moment of silence passed between the two of us.

And he let out uproarious laughter that echoed inside my head as if it was a cave.

"Please follow me to your seat, _Master_," I said through gritted teeth, stretching out a stiff hand towards the direction of an empty spot. He followed me without another word – or laughter, in this case.

He ordered a cup of coffee, and I delivered him his order. If anyone was to have watched us, they would've thought that it was just a normal scene: a waitress – or what was more known as maid in the café – serving a customer. It was normal, wasn't it? I was, after all, a maid and he was a customer. It was all normal. Perfectly normal. Nothing peculiar at all. Nothing.

Yeah, it would've been normal if a) he wasn't a student in the school where I was President, b) he wasn't the famous – or should I say, _infamous_ – male student who would win the votes of all the female students – except for mine – in any nomination, and c) he would just stop staring at my back and actually finish his _one cup of coffee_ and get the heck out of the place.

But, seeing that he was all but those three, no, it wasn't normal. It wasn't normal for Ayuzawa Misaki to be serving Usui Takumi. But it wasn't normal that Ayuzawa Misaki was dressing up as a maid as well, so I guess they cancel out.

God, just kill me. Right now. Kill me right now.

xXx

Another day. Another shift. Another annoyance.

Another Usui Takumi bothering me in my shift today.

Fun.

"I knew it!" Satsuki squealed. "He _is_ interested in you!"

I whirled around, surprised to have her screaming behind me – and even more embarrassed to have her screaming behind me about Usui Takumi being interested at me when he was right there, scooping up his sundae. She was biting her nails – a habit of hers whenever she gets excited or enthused – he eyes were sparkling, and I got the impression that if humans were able to produce flowers, she would've filled the whole shop with pink roses.

"No, he is not," I hissed. Something tugged inside my chest.

"The way he looks at you!" my manager continued to squeal. "His eyes look so worried! How lovable!"

"Eh? Worried?" I asked, dubious.

Satsuki nodded vigorously.

I risked a glance at Usui Takumi, genuinely clueless as to why he would look at me worriedly, and saw that he was still calmly eating his soft ice-cream. Good, because there was no way I could hold the embarrassment of being caught glancing at him.

Funny that as I was thinking about that, the spoon that he was holding stopped halfway to his mouth, and he turned to look at me.

[Insert a curse word of your choice]

Just my luck.

My heart sped up inside my chest, feeling like it was going to shoot right out of my ribs. All my blood crept up to my head, not only making my head pound like crazy and forming black spots in my vision, but also making me blush.

Correction: Making me _seem_ like I was blushing, because there was _no way_ I was blushing at him. _No friggin' way_. I'd rather been caught dead than be seen to blush at Usui Takumi – or at anyone else, for that matter.

Usui chuckled and grinned, shaking his head in a way that made my cheeks heat up even more.

* * *

**Eheh... How did you like that?**

**Chapter 3 is 3/4 done, and it will be up the next time I have time to update.**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi. I don't really know what to say here, but this is not your author; she's currently extremely busy and stressed out. I'm her friend.**

**So from what I can tell, she usually apologizes after a long time of not updating. She is terribly sorry for not updating for such a long period of time. As I've mentioned earlier, this week has been hectic for her. She'd had barely enough time to finish this chapter. (Like, right now, she's probably sitting on the floor with dozens of books scattered around her. Her hair is probably all messed up like a nest from the stress.)**

**Uh, she did say that all the reviews will be answered the next time she updates. Sorry.**

**I guess that's all.**

* * *

Ridiculous, I thought as I walked down the hallway filled with chattering students. He wasn't worried about me. He was watching me as entertainment. Satsuki was wrong. She was wrong. What did she know about Usui Takumi?

"Misaki!"

I snapped out of Annoyanceville and came back to the real world. Sakura was calling me, waving her hand up high even though we were only 10 feet apart with no students in between us.

"Misaki!" she called again. "How awesome is this? You got second place on that mock exam!"

_Second place._

"Second place?" I asked, forcing my brows to not furrow. "Who's first?"

I had a feeling that I wouldn't like the answer to this.

"Usui Takumi," Shizuko pitched in.

No. Way.

No. _Friggin'_. Way.

I left without saying a word.

My head was pounding.

_I refuse to be humiliated like this._

Flash images of the blond crashed through my mind, forming uncontrolled chaos, my mind going amok.

_I refuse to be humiliated like this_.

He was probably laughing his backside off right now, watching me with those tricking green eyes of his, scrutinizing me, searching for my weakness. And I'd given it to him. I told him my weakness the day he discovered my part-time job, and I'd stupidly told him everything: The day that my dad left my family, the point where I felt so weak and frail that I didn't think I could carry on, everything. He knew that I didn't have spare time to study more than I already am, and he was using it to his advantage.

And even with all that information, he still wanted more.

_I refuse to be humiliated like this._

I didn't want to be looked down upon!

ZRRACK!

I slid open the door to my next class, panting, extremely infuriated. I just wanted to sit in my seat and forget about all of it. I knew I was kind of making a big racket for such trifling matter, but I just held a deep grudge against anyone who _used my weakness against me_ and beat me at something, and sitting down might help me regain my composure.

But it seemed like I wouldn't be getting any rest in the class, because just as I took a stepped in, a group of boys looked up from the magazines that they were holding and tried to hide it under their blazers.

"What are those indecent magazines you're looking at?" I asked, deadpanned.

"T-they're comics!" they replied, but the hesitation in their voices was a dead-giveaway.

As I approached them, my hands ready to swipe the magazines away from them, they continued to babble on, "What, just because they have some gravure images doesn't make them 'indescent'!"

I silently cleared my throat, and growled, "_Confiscated,_" all while yanking the magazines away from them.

They muttered some curse words, and if it wasn't for the blood pounding in my head, I would've punished them for those, too.

"Why are the girls allowed to bring magazines while the boys aren't?" they complained. "You're being unfair! You're not giving us equal rights! Bias!"

What?

The room was silent. I knew for a fact that the boys were still arguing about their confiscated magazines, I saw their mouths open and shut and their tightened jaws. But I couldn't hear anything. My mind was too focused on the way I'd been treating the students in the school in the past. Was I bias? Was I performing inequality? Apparently so, according to the boys in front of me.

"If you're going to enforce the rules, then enforce it to both the boys and girls!"

I took a deep breath and said, "Fine. I'll review the case after checking the contents of the magazines. Those that are just inappropriate for school are banned." To the class, I announced, "Give me the names of the magazines that you'd like to read at school. Both male and female."

The boys looked surprised then. They stared at me, wide-eyed, before looking at each other and the other students who were in the class as well.

"But there will be a lot of them, and you're already so busy with your current work…" one of the girls in the back of the class said.

"It's fine," I said, trying to muster an easy tone. "It's my duty as President."

They looked at each other uncomfortably, as if doubting I could do what I said I would. I looked at the boys apologetically, and I wanted them to see the guilt in my eyes. I wanted to say that I was sorry, but I was too proud; my ego was taking over.

However, the boys looked ten times more guilty and sorry than I was. They were looking down at the floor, their shoes, the piece of gum stuck on the floor, everywhere but at me. They fidgeted quite a lot, too. And not only that, their brows were slumped down like the roof of a house.

I grabbed a piece of crumpled paper from the table beside the door and crouched to pick up the gum from the floor.

"Tell that to the other classes, too, would you?" I asked, already heading for the door. "I will really appreciate it if the names come by today, afterschool. Place them by my table in the Student Council room. Thank you."

And I left, feeling as if I'd yet again bit off more than I could chew.

Silly feelings. What did they know?

xXx

I sighed as I closed the 286th magazine given by the students. Nope, nothing inappropriate here…

"P-p-p-president?"

"Yeah?" I looked up while placing the magazine on the Allowed pile.

"Err… Well," Sawa, the Student Council accountant, stuttered. "The accounts for last month aren't… adding up p-properly…"

It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about.

"_What?_" I growled, slamming my desk with magazine number 287. "I _told_ you to count the money _accurately!_"

"I-I am so sorry! I'm s-sorry!" he squealed, his arms curling around him like a porcupine.

I sighed, feeling the throbbing pain from my temples, and murmured, "It's fine. I'll do it myself."

He paused before turning away, looking somewhat relieved while also guilty, and left the room, leaving me all alone in the godforsaken room, reading through hideous amounts of magazines.

It was around 5 to 6 in the evening when the sun started sinking down the horizon. Crimson light filled in the room from the window, casting long shadows across tables and cupboards. The place was eerily quiet, but I was quite used to it now. After all, I _had_ been staying late for a long time now, had I not?

I was starting to feel quite warm, since the air conditioners were turned off over two hours ago, when the last staff of the school had left. Instinctively looking around to see whether there was anyone in the area, which was – I have to admit – a tad bit stupid, I took off my blazer, untied the ribbon around my neck, and unbuttoned the first two buttons of my button-up uniform.

"Are you a masochist, Pres?"

My heart lurched to a halt.

I whirled around, my head pounding from all the blood that was rushing through it, and found myself looking at Usui Takumi leaning on the doorframe to the room.

"W-what are you doing here?" I asked, my question sounding more to an accusation than an inquiry. I was suddenly aware that my uniform was exposing too much of my skin that the school's regulations had allowed.

"You enjoy weighing yourself down, driving yourself into a corner… I guess you're a sadist, too, then," he continued, ignoring my lack of hospitality to his presence.

"What –?"

My mind was too blurry to comprehend what he was saying; I could barely make out each word coming out of his mouth.

"I think you should loosen up a bit. I mean, not to be inquisitive in any way, but…" his voice trailed off from my senses. I could still see his mouth moving, but even his image seemed to be swaying like a drunkard.

The red of the class suddenly seemed too sharp for my vision. My eyes were blurry and my mind confusing. My body felt weightless for a moment, my limbs feeling as though all the gravity that had been acting on them was suddenly gone. Also in that moment, my vision moved, from Usui Takumi to the ceiling to the lamp above me.

Then the back of my head made contact to something solid. My vision stopped moving and settled to the part of the wall where it ended and the windows started. I could feel air tickling down my cheek.

"Just watching you like this…" Usui Takumi said, now suddenly very close to me.

Then there was one nanosecond where I realized that not only was Usui Takumi perilously close to me, he was the pillar I was leaning on. His hands were around my waist, securing me from falling any farther. Our bodies were practically one, mine emitting more heat that his.

And there was a fourth of a nanosecond where I wished that I hadn't unbuttoned my uniform so much.

"Let... go of me," I whispered, the immense pain in my head becoming more and more painful with each breath. "Usui Takumi, let go of me."

His hands snaked up from my waist to my chest, where I had opened the buttons to my uniform, and I felt my heart quicken from the touch of them. I had the urge to slap him across the face right then, like how I would usually do, but my hands were sore from the exessive lifting of books and my body felt like it was going to fall over had Usui Takumi not be there to be the spine of me.

He exhaled, sending warm breaths to my cheek, my nape, and I trembled.

I hated being weak, but I didn't have another option in this case.

His hands rightened my collar, before buttoning up my uniform, his fingers constantly brushing against my bare skin.

"... You really make me worried," he finished whatever it was that he'd said before.

_Worried._

I somehow managed to gather up enough strength to slap him away. He didn't seem surprise by my sudden reaction and continued to stare at me with those unreadble green eyes of his.

"I," I breathed, "don't need help... from the likes of you."

That was when I saw the hurt in his eyes. It was only a small spark of hurt, but hurt nonetheless.

But it was gone just as quick as it had came. If he had been hurt a second ago, it seemed like he'd forgotten all about it then.

"Oh" was his only reply.

He turned around and stepped out of the doors, his shadow following in his wake.

The sun had completely set now, and the school was engulfed in pure darkness. And despite having more-or-less shooed him off, I had a feeling that Usui Takumi was still lingering somewhere around the school.

* * *

**People, GO SPAM HER WITH LOVELY REVIEWS.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! So my friend updated the last chapter for me, and I think she did a really good job. (Thanks)**

**Okay, so I'm still as busy as ever, and I've been having a massive writer's block these few weeks. Sorry. BUT I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! *dance* YESSSS.**

**Reviews:**

**FeelLikeSmiling: Thank you! (I take that when you said 'she', you were addressing me.) I'm done with almost all my tests for this week, just got 2 more to go :)**

**Honoko-chan: Thank you!**

**AznRomance x3: LOLOLOL THANK YOU! I think it is my job to make people fall in love with Usui (even more if they are already in love with him).**

* * *

My eyes were extremely watery and blurry when I was done reviewing all the magazines. My head was killing me, what with my brain expanding and contracting with every heartbeat, and let's just say that if I was Earth, global warming would no longer be a myth.

I walked out of the school, heading home. Luckily, my shift wasn't scheduled until tomorrow, so I could at least get a couple more hours of rest, especially since I'd had quite a day today.

I didn't know whether it was just my headache messing with my gut-feelings or the heat burning up my brain, but I had an uneasy feeling under my stomach, like I was being stalked or something. I had this urge to always look behind me, knowing that someone was there, watching me and following me, but seeing no one when I did. It felt as though my stalker was invisible, as though he was thin air.

This, I decided as I waited on the side of the zebra-cross for the light to turn green, was just a figment of my wild imagination.

What wasn't a figment of my imagination, though, was the soreness of my whole body. The ground was extremely shaky, as though I was on a boat, swaying together with the waves. The darkness of the night was constantly changing from black to navy blue to purple before going back to black and repeating the whole cycle. And the temperature was particularly odd: I was burning inside, but I was shivering outside.

The light turned green, and a few passersby walked across the street with me.

But as I was walking, my head pounded harder and harder against my skull, and my knees felt weaker and weaker. I slowed down my pace, and the few people around me started to steer clear from me, forming a broken circle with me in the center.

I took another agonizing step, before my knees gave away.

And that was when a lot of things happened at once.

The world turned sickeningly, and my body slammed against the pavement, my shoulder getting most of the impact, my head the second. My vision was blurry, and all the roaring of car engines and chattering of people became a jumbled series of muffled sounds.

My papers scattered around me, floating in mid-air, before slowly parachuting down to the ground. The people who were aware of my fall and the sudden rain of papers went away, while the people who weren't ended up stepping on all my notes and arithmetic.

And there was one moment – that moment before I went into the state of unconsciousness – that a shadow loomed over me, and I felt safe.

After that, it was pitch black.

xXx

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping out my window. The constant _chip chip chip_ was more than enough to wake even the dead in the radius of a mile.

I blinked my eyes open, daylight filling my vision, opaquely overlapping the darkness that was there previously.

What happened, I thought. I couldn't remember anything even if I tried.

"Misaki," Mum called out from the other side of the door. "Breakfast is ready."

"Um, o-okay," I replied, my mouth tasting awful. "I'll be down in a minute." Then she left.

I yawned for a couple minutes, stretching my arms and legs in all directions possible. The side of my forehead hurt whenever I pressed it – later, I discovered that there was a huge unsightly bruise just beneath my bangs – and my shoulder – particularly my right one – ebbed in pain whenever I moved my arms.

After the revelation of all my pain, I stood up and got ready for school, as horrible as I was feeling right then.

It was after I had finished brushing my teeth and stuff, when I was preparing my bag for school, that I realized that all my paperwork and notebooks were covered with answers, even though I couldn't recall doing my homework yesterday. Well, I couldn't recall doing anything after the fall –

Wait.

I fainted. I was sure that I fainted.

How… how did I…?

My head throbbed painfully, as though someone was trying to crack my skull from the inside.

"Misaki, your breakfast is collecting dust down here," Mum called out again, chuckling at her own joke.

"Coming, Mum," I said, stuffing the papers and books that were stacked neatly on the table into my bag, eyeing them suspiciously.

I didn't realize that the written answers weren't written in my handwriting until it was time to submit them to my teachers.

Odd.

xXx

Leaning against the wall of the café, I sighed in exhaustion. It was late in the evening, and the sun was starting to set down the horizon. I was shivering.

I had so much to do, so little time to do them, and so little time in between to rest. And even though a lot of my assignments had been magically done by an unknown force last night, I still had piles of them to do. There were the projects that I'd started but had yet to finish; there were books assigned for me to read but I'd yet to do so; there were announcements to make that I'd yet to revise. I felt like I was doing everthing halfway.

And the pounding inside my head wasn't helping at all. In fact, it was so distracting that at first I didn't hear the footsteps approaching until it was too late to go inside the store.

"Eh, isn't that Pres?"

I gasped at familiarity of the sound.

And no, it wasn't Usui Takumi.

I whirled around, my heart thrashing around my chest, worsening my already horrible headache, and found three infamous delinquents from school grinning down at me as though they were hungry lions and I was a zebra. This was when my heart went from thump-da-thump-da-thump to thumpdathumpdathumpdathumpda , and I suddenly found myself not caring about the fact that they'd seen me in my uniform.

"It really is Pres!" one of them exclaimed excitedly.

I was about to open the backdoor and enter the store when a hand shot out and grabbed my extended arm - right on a bruise.

"Now, where do you think you're going?" Shirokawa said as his grin spread wider across his face. "You treat us boys like crap in school and you expect us to just let you go in an opportunity like this?" He spat on the ground. "Hmph, not going to happen." He called me a name I'd rather not mention.

"Let me go," I tried to muster a growl, but what came out was a wounded cry. And as he clenched my arm tighter, I shrieked out in pain.

"Hey," he whispered to his two other friends. "Take a picture or something, idiots! And pin her up, would you?"

Then he jammed the rest of me onto the wall of the store, my front crashing against the rough bricks, and both of hands were secured against the wall. I cried out as he yanked a great chunk of my hair back.

"Aren't you supposed to address us as your masters?" Shirokawa whispered just loud enough for his two friends to hear, and they laughed.

I was shaking insanely by now. I tried to call out for help, but we were too far from the entrance of the alley for anyone to hear me, and I knew for a fact that all the staff inside the cafe were busy serving people to actually care about what was happening outside. I thought about going into combat with them, but with the headache and bruises, I doubted that they would find it difficult to pin me onto the ground.

I heard a few clicks, and the two other idiots announced that they were taking pictures and recording me.

I was on the verge of tears.

And just when I thought this couldn't get any worse, I felt his hands on my back, tracing my shoulder blades. His hands were rough against my skin. I trembled.

"Afterall," Shirokawa whispered to my ear, "you're still a girl, are you not, Pres? So why don't we…?"

I squirmed and struggled to free myself when his hands reached my exposed shoulders, plucking at the laces that held my sleeves up. He rammed his knee against my back forcefully, and I felt extreme heat rising from my stomach.

A couple strings were untied when, suddenly, a familiar shadow loomed over us, and I felt the familiar feeling of security washing through me.

And the next second, my hands were free and I was no longer jammed against the wall. I swayed towards the dumpster, which was a couple meters away, and leaned against it for a while, trying to steady myself.

"Do not touch her," I could hear a voice say, though unclear.

The heat rose up to my throat, and my lunch came out through my mouth and to the dumpster.

"U-Usui?!" the three delinquents said, surprised.

My senses weren't working properly to question the presence of Usui Takumi. I could barely stand as the contents of my stomach were continuously being pumped out.

Then after a while and a bit of talking between the four men, Shirokawa and his friends went away. The remaining man proceeded towards me.

He patted me on the back for a while, his touch intimidating at first, but becoming friendlier as the minutes went by. I wiped my acidic mouth with a lace sleeve that was hanging low on my arm and leaned on the wall, only to have my back land on an extended arm of Usui Takumi.

"Here, lean on me," he murmured, gently securing his arms around me.

I didn't have the sense and energy to say no, and so I did.

It was still not clear why he was treating me with such hospitality, when I'd only treated him with the most hostile attitude ever. But just having someone there to lean on somehow took some weight off my shoulders.

"I'm sorry," I suddenly found myself saying. "I'm sorry…"

From the silence, I took it that he was surprised by my sudden apology. But he chuckled lightly after a second and replied, "It's fine. You have nothing to be sorry about."

A few moments passed, and he started tying my sleeves back up properly. My body stiffened as he did this, his touch foreign. But he seemed to understand my discomfort, because right after noticing this, he immediately said, "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

I held my breath as I closed my eyes, feeling this warmth and security coming from Usui Takumi. It took all my willpower to not sleep right then, to stay conscious, when he unraveled the scarf around his neck and draped it over my shoulders. And that was when I realized how bad I was shaking.

"Go home. That's enough working for today."

And that was exactly what I did, no questions asked.

* * *

**Yes, I know. A little bit different than the one showed in the anime... But what good will this story be if it's all the same, right?**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So here's the ending of episode one. It's a short one, compared to the four chapters that precedes it, but I hope it's good.**

**Also, since it's almost impossible for me to retell, like, _every single episodes _in the anime (it took me 5 chapters to do episode one – albeit it's possibly the most important one in the whole series – so I'd be writing approximately 100 chapters for the whole thing. No, just no), I need you guys to tell me which episodes you want me to retell into words! Please, I need this. Your votes are important!  
**

**Reviews:**

**Honoko-chan: Thanks!**

**Anonymous: Haha, thank you! I will try to make it more realistic as I write! (And no, you don't sound like a granny at all!)**

**Ripplerose: Haha thank youu~~~**

* * *

Saturday and Sunday went by quickly, and I soon found myself in bed at Sunday night, feeling much better than I had two days ago.

The door to my room creaked open, and Mum entered, bringing with her a purple scarf, perfectly folded.

"Misaki," she said. A small smile crept up to her face when she saw me reading through my math textbook in bed, all tucked in. "Here's the scarf that you borrowed. Say thank you to your friend, would you?"

I folded the page I left off and closed the book. "Of course I will, Mum. And thank you, for washing it."

"Why, I won't allow my sick daughter to do laundry, now, will I?" Laughing, she set the scarf on my bedside table and went out.

"Mum?" I called out to her just as she was about to close the door. "Do you remember how I came home on Thursday?" I asked when she asked what the matter was.

"How you came home on Thursday?" she echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Like, the condition I was in. Was I drenched, or – I don't know."

Mum considered this for a while, before saying, "I'm not sure… I had a night shift on Thursdays, remember? But you were already sleeping when I came home at 4, and your uniform was dry and folded on your table, so I placed them inside your cupboard. Why?"

"Uh, nothing. Just… curious," I said. "Was Suzuna out, too? On Thursday?"

"Yes, she was staying at her friend's house."

"Ah, okay. Thanks," I muttered, adding to it a nervous laugh.

Mum, being the carefree person that she was, just said goodnight and closed the door, not even questioning my inconceivably odd inquiry.

Alone in my room, I set aside my book (had enough of polynomial remainder theorem for the night) and opened up my window, letting in a gush of cold night wind.

It was a beautiful night. The sky was a perfect shade of navy blue, and the stars were bright and shining. The moon was nowhere to be seen, but that was fine: the sky was already bright without it, anyway.

I thought about the events that happened in the previous week:

a) My secret part-time job had been discovered by the school's alleged 'prince' and three delinquents. The 'prince' hadn't told anyone about it (probably because he thought it amusing to watch me overwork and worry about stuff, like a little puzzled ant), but now that the three delinquents knew about it… I wasn't quite sure if they'd stay as silent as Usui Takumi. And

b) I'd collapse on more than one occasion, one of which I had no idea who'd helped me get home. (And I chose to believe that I changed into my pajamas myself that night)

I sighed.

I truly hoped that the following week wouldn't be so eventful.

xXx

Usui Takumi was lying down on the floor of the roof of the school when I went up there.

He turned to look at the visitor who had disturbed his peace and said, "Pres? It's odd to see you up here."

I scratched my head awkwardly, being the social pariah that I was. "Uh, I…"

A few seconds after my voice trailed off, he broke the silence and said, "You know, they haven't told anyone about your job."

"Is that so?" I asked, sighing in relief. "I was actually prepared for it."

He provided no answer.

Feeling odd, I asked, "D-did you do anything to them to, you know, shut them up?"

"Not really," answered the blond. "I asked them to not spread it around, since it's a secret entertainment for me, watching you like this." Much to my dismay, he provided no signs that he was joking.

I sighed in surrender. "So you _are_ having fun with this."

He turned around to face me, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. "I mean, you'd get mad if I said I was worried, wouldn't you?" he asked.

I clenched my fists tight, using all my strength to hold them down by my sides, and stomped towards him.

"Not to go against your decision to keep your job a secret or anything, I actually feel that it'd be okay if the school knows about it," he said, effectively catching my attention. "I mean, it's not like it's against the rules to have a part-time job, right? I'm sure they wouldn't have anything against you if you did tell everyone.

"Besides, your job doesn't determine who you are. You're a strong, confident woman who fights for what she believes in, and wearing a maid's uniform won't change any of that. You'd still be you, in your school uniform or your maid outfit. Don't you agree?"

Usually, I'd hate getting into talks like this, but I actually found myself paying attention to each and every word coming out of Usui Takumi's mouth. He was _this_ close to convincing me to tell every single person in the whole planet about my mortifying job. So close, yet – thankfully – so far.

"You know," I found myself muttering, "I spent 28 of my 48-hour weekend thinking about why you piss me off so much, Usui Takumi."

I was hesitant about continuing what I'd just unconsciously said, but seeing the surprised look on his face, I decided to proceed.

"It's like… I'm running with all my might, trying to be the best in everything… and there you are, jogging a few steps in front of me, laughing. You'd turn back and shout out completely useless things to me, irritating me incredibly, before proceeding with your jog. And no matter how much I try to pass you, I can't. You're always _there_, while I'm always… _here_.

"And last week, you've helped me by being a few steps in front of me, and… I thank you for that. But just you wait, Usui Takumi. I swear I'll catch up to you, and next time, I'll be the one worrying over you."

By the time I was done, his eyes were the size of oranges. And that was when I realized how big of a fool I'd made out of myself.

I mean, really? Who says that after getting praised by a guy?

No one.

But much to my astonishment, Usui Takumi threw his head back and laughed. Not that cold and mean laugh, but the good-hearted chuckle I'd never heard from him before.

"I take that as a challenge to not let you bypass me," he said, still lightly chuckling.

I was just about to make my leave when I remembered the main reason I came here.

"Ah," I murmured while fumbling inside my bag, taking out a paper bag. "Here's your scarf." I handed it to him. "I washed it. Thanks for lending it to me."

"You sure you want to give it back?" he asked, the corner of his lips perking up.

"Huh?" I uttered, not quite getting what he meant.

"There are people who would kill to get my scarf. So I'm asking you, are you sure you want to give it back?"

"W-what?" I felt my cheeks heat up. "W-why would I want to keep your scarf? You're so full of yourself!"

He shrugged. "Well, just don't regret it later."

"I _won't_," I spat out.

He sat up to take the bag containing his scarf, before lying back down again.

"Err," I carried on. "I don't want to be indebted to anyone, but I can't think of how I should reciprocate… So, I was wondering if you have anything in mind…"

His brows shot up when I was finished.

He turned towards me, an amused look on his face, and – all while stifling a chuckle – recommended, "Well, why don't you be my personal maid for a day, then?"

My reaction to his remark, however, was not seen, as right at that moment, the sun decided to peek out from the cloud it had been hiding behind, causing Usui Takumi to block his eyes using his hands. I was grateful for this, of course, since if he had paid attention to how I'd reacted, he'd be looking at a gaping tomato.

"I'm out of here," I muttered, before storming towards the staircase.

Behind me, I could hear the blond chuckle.

God, was he annoying or _what?_

xXx

"W-w-what," I stuttered, gaping at the view in front of me. "_What are you guys doing here?_"

Usui Takumi, sitting in his usual spot, grinned.

"They said they wanted to come and see you," he explained, somewhat teasingly. "Looks like you've got yourself some fans, huh?"

I gaped at the blond, before gaping at the three customers sitting in the table beside his.

Shirokawa Naoya.

Sarashina Ikuto.

Ryuunosuke Kurosaki.

My jaw fell farther down when they started smiling dreamily to the walls of the café.

"Maid Latte," they murmured. "Maid Latte..."

Usui Takumi chuckled.

I should really get a new job, I thought to myself while making my way to the kitchen. I really should get a new job.

* * *

**Please review!**


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